Page 13 - 0619

COMMENTS & ANALYSIS
Can Desires Translate Into Scalability?
by jim prevor, editor-in-chief, produce business
Here is the key take-away from Da- tassential’s research: “...more than half of consumers say they’re eating
more fruits and vegetables than they were a year ago, signaling a shift in dietary prefer- ences as consumers seek out healthier foods.”
Consumers “say” they are eating more fruits and vegetables – but they are not!
We have reasonably good disappearance data in which we track domestic production of fruits and vegetables; we then add in imports, subtract exports, and when we do all this, there is just no indication that consumers are, in fact, buying or consuming more fruits and vegetables.
Part of the problem is likely that produce consumption is so widely recognized as a good thing: Good for health, good for the environment, good for farmers, etc. – that consumers feel a need to respond in a posi- tive manner.
In other words, asking if you are trying to feed your family more fruits and vegeta- bles is virtually the same as asking if you are trying to be a good mother. So, if you want to know what is actually happening, you have to cross-check consumer expression with other measures of consumer activity.
Of course, as interesting as it is to know what consumers are actually doing, knowing what they say they are trying to do has its own importance. Consumers reporting behavior like this is often an expression of aspiration. It is like joining a gym, but never going. People want to be fit, they know they should work out, they want to be and be seen as that fit, healthy, disciplined person. The problem is that they are not.
This is a problem if you are a public health authority, but, if you are a marketer looking to sell products, understanding people’s aspi- rations may be just as important as under- standing their actual purchasing behavior.
There is a question, however, whether marketing produce as healthy is, in fact, an important motivator to purchasing. Maybe there are secondary effects that would be more effective in marketing. In other words, being healthy is something your mom or
There is a reason Walmart is the Number One shopping venue in America. There
is a reason Aldi is the fastest growing substantial food retailer in the country. There is a reason that McDonald’s is the biggest restaurant chain. In order for something to be more than an inspiration, it has to be scalable.
doctor or nanny might urge. What if we can persuade people that if they are healthy, they will be more attractive and have better sex lives? Or we emphasize the joys of health in terms of longevity and getting to see your children and grandchildren grow?
The list of booming produce items is interesting and, certainly, one sees many hot culinary trends such as pickling that can be used on other items. But there are three facts that long experience with efforts to increase produce consumption has taught us:
First, never assume that increases in consumption of any one produce item will translate into an increase in overall consumption of produce. There is a very high substitution factor in produce. So if people used to order a side of spinach with a steak and now they get a side of kale, that causes kale sales to boom, but only at the expensive of spinach. There is no net increase in produce consumption.
Second, beware of dramatic increases in sales on low volume items. All the items listed by Datassential together do not account for even 1% of produce sales. Dramatic changes can indicate new flavor profiles being accepted, new culinary trends, new cooking techniques, the impacts of ethnic change and
travel. But in and of itself, even large changes on such a small base don’t do much to boost consumption. Think about what is being done to increase the sales of bananas and then you see something really happen.
Third, remember the importance of price. There is a reason Walmart is the Number One shopping venue in America. There is a reason Aldi is the fastest growing substantial food retailer in the country. There is a reason that McDonald’s is the biggest restaurant chain. In order for something to be more than an inspiration, it has to be scalable. This means it has to be available at a price the general public can afford.
White table cloth restaurants are a font of innovation and inspiration, but they are, perhaps, 1% of the foodservice market! To boost consumption in a meaningful way, we have to offer products that appeal to, are available to, and are affordable by the large population that lives paycheck-to-paycheck. So they may appeal to consumer aspirations to be healthy – and promise the results of being healthy – but also be sold at Walmart and Aldi and served at McDonald’s and not bust the budget.
Then consumer aspirations to eat more produce are likely to be actualized.
PRODUCE BUSINESS / JUNE 2019 / 13